Politics

This week on Maine's Political Pulse, Democrat Sara Gideon and Republican Sen. Susan Collins make their final arguments in a deadlocked contest awash in historic campaign spending that's given neither of the two front-runners a big advantage heading into the final days of voting.

The long and wildly expensive Maine U.S. Senate race is drawing to a close. But after more than $100 million spent, a blizzard of nonstop ads and a campaign made unconventional by the pandemic, the contest could hinge on whether a majority of Maine voters believe Republican Sen. Susan Collins has changed during the presidency of Donald Trump. That’s the argument made by Democratic challenger Sara Gideon, who is within striking distance of knocking off the only Republican member of Congress in New England.

In Jan. 2017, millions of marchers all over the United States came together in what may have been the largest single day of protest in U.S. history. Later that year, the #MeToo movement — which had begun quietly more than a decade earlier — began to snowball. And in 2018, a record number of women were elected to public office in the U.S.

A new poll from Colby College indicates that Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden is improving his numbers in Maine, while the U.S. Senate race is as close as ever.

It’s not often Democratic and Republican party operatives in Maine agree, but both say that control of the state Senate is up in the air this November, with close races in half a dozen of the 35 Senate seats that are up for grabs.

Maine poll workers on Tuesday can start processing an unprecedented deluge of absentee ballots that voters have mailed in or, in many cases, hand-delivered this month.

Over the past few years, Waterville Mayor Nick Isgro has repeatedly clashed with council members and faced an unsuccessful recall effort in 2018 after taunting a school shooting survivor in a social media post. He’s also been criticized for his anti-immigrant views.

This week on Maine's Political Pulse:

— Former Gov. Paul LePage stumps for Sen. Susan Collins at a rally fine-tuned for President Donald Trump's base of supporters

— A recap of the whirlwind week of congressional debates

Did you know there is now a Political Pulse newsletter? It offers a weekly update on Maine and national politics in the leadup to the November election. Click here to subscribe, and you’ll receive an edition each Friday morning.